第九篇   lightening strikes

a. no wonder the ancient greeks thought it was zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

b. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

d. when i picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished.            

e. occasionally there are warning signs.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

1. three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed lyn miller’s house in aberdeen—with her two children inside. “there was a huge rainstorm,” she says, recalling the terrifying experience. “my brother and i were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. suddenly i was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. ____1____

a. no wonder the ancient greeks thought it was zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

b. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

d. when i picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished.

e. occasionally there are warning signs.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

1. the door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. later i was told to be struck by lightning is a chance in a million.” in fact, it’s calculated at one chance in 600,000. even so, dr mark keys of aer technology, an organisation that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. “i wouldn’t go out in a storm—but then i’m quite a careful person.” he advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

2. lightning is one of nature’s most awesome displays of sheer power. ____2____ 250 years ago, benjamin franklin, the american scientist and statesman, proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

a. no wonder the ancient greeks thought it was zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

b. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

e. occasionally there are warning signs.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

3. ____3____ positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people’s hair can stand on end. and if you fear lightning, you’ll be glad to know that a company in america has manufactured a hand-held lightning detector which can detect it up to 70 kms away, sound a warning tone and monitor the storm’s approach.

b. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

e. occasionally there are warning signs.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

4. nancy wilder was playing golf at a club in surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. mrs wilder’s heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for bums to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again. since that time，she has been a strictly fair weather golfer. ____4____ the best place to be is inside a car!

b. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

5. the largest number of people to be struck by lightning at one time was in september 1995 when 17 players on a football pitch were hit simultaneously. the most extraordinary aspect of the strike was the fact that 11 of the victims—seven adults and four children—had burn patterns of tiny holes at 3 centimetre intervals on each toe and around the soles of their feet.

6. harold deal, a retired electrician from south carolina, usa, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. he was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature. ____5____

c. lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

f. since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

7. animals are victims of lightning too. hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. in east anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

一、three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed lyn miller’s house in aberdeen—with her two children inside. “there was a huge rainstorm,” she says, recalling the terrifying experience.

三年前，一道闪电几乎将林恩•米勒在亚伯丁的房子夷为平地，当时她的两个孩子还在屋里面。“那是一场暴风雨”，林恩回忆那场可怕的经历时说道“

一、 “my brother and i were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. suddenly i was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. when i picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished.

我和我的兄弟当时正在外面，拼命阻止雨水流进屋子里。突然，我被巨大的爆炸击倒在地。当我爬起来的时候，房子的屋顶和顶楼都不见了。

一、the door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. later i was told to be struck by lightning is a chance in a million.”

门被碎石堵住了，我们强行把门打开，找到了我的孩子，谢天谢地他们没有受伤。过后我得知，被闪电击中的概率是百万分之 一。”

一、in fact, it’s calculated at one chance in 600,000. even so, dr mark keys of aer technology, an organization that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. “i wouldn’t go out in a storm—but then i’m quite a careful person.”

事实上，有人计算过被闪电击中的概率是六百万分之一，虽然如此，aer技术中心（是一个专门监控闪电影响的组织）的马克•凯斯博士还是认为，人们面对闪电的时候应该小心，马克说：“我不会在暴风雨的天气到户外去——：我是一个特别小心的人。”

一、he advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

他还建议，要是不幸在户外遇到暴风雨，一定要趴在地上，蜷成球状，使自己的身体尽可能地缩小。

二、lightning is one of nature’s most awesome displays of sheer power. no wonder the ancient greeks thought it was zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

闪电是大自然绝对力量最可怕的展现方式之一。难怪古希腊人认为雷电产生是因为众神之父宙斯发怒了，并向周围投掷闪电。

二、250 years ago, benjamin franklin, the american scientist and statesman, proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

250年前，美国科学家和政治家本杰明•富兰克林证明了闪电是一种电，但是科学家仍然不完全清楚它的形成机制。

三、occasionally there are warning signs. positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people’s hair can stand on end.

有时，闪电的到来有一些预兆。正电荷顺着树木或教堂尖顶向上流动的时候可能会有发光现象，并伴随着嗡嗡的噪声，人们的头发还可能会直立起来。

三、and if you fear lightning, you’ll be glad to know that a company in america has manufactured a hand-held lightning detector which can detect it up to 70 kms away, sound a warning tone and monitor the storm’s approach.

如果你害怕闪电，那么有一个好消息，美国的一个公司生产了一种手持的闪电探测器，最远能够探测到70千米以外的闪电，并通过发出声音警报来提醒人们风暴的到来。

四、nancy wilder was playing golf at a club in surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. mrs. wilder’s heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for bums to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again.

南希，怀尔德被闪电击中的时候正在萨里的一个俱乐部打高尔夫球。被闪电击中后，她的心跳停止了，但随后她被救了回来。接下来的几天她都待在医院，治疗头上、手上和脚上的烧伤，直到康复出院。

四、since that time, she has been a strictly fair weather golfer. in fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm. the best place to be is inside a car!

从那时起，她便只在晴朗的天气才打高尔夫。事实上，高尔夫球场是暴风雨天气最危险的地方之一，而最好的地方是汽车里。

五、the largest number of people to be struck by lightning at one time was in september 1995 when 17 players on a football pitch were hit simultaneously. the most extraordinary aspect of the strike was the fact that 11 of the victims—seven adults and four children—had burn patterns of tiny holes at 3 centimetre intervals on each toe and around the soles of their feet.

在1995年9月发生了一起多人被闪电击中的事件，17名足球运动员在赛场上同时被击中。最惊人的是，死者中的11人——包括7名成人和4名儿童——在每个脚趾和脚底上都有烧伤的小洞图案，每个洞相距3厘米。

六、harold deal, a retired electrician from south carolina, usa, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. he was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature.

哈罗德，迪尔是美国南卡罗莱纳州的一名退休电气技师，26年前，他被闪电击中。当时他看上去没有受伤，但是后来人们发现这次雷击损坏了他大脑中控制温度感受的部分。

六、since then the freezing south carolina winters haven’t bothered harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

从那之后，南卡罗莱纳州寒冷的冬天就再也没让哈罗德发愁过，因为他已经完全感受不到寒冷。

七、animals are victims of lightning too. hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. in east anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

动物们也会成为雷击的牺牲品，每年都有数百头牛羊死于雷击，多数情况下是因为它们总是在下雨的时候躲在树下。1918年在东盎格利亚，一道闪电谅过整个羊群，一下杀死了504只羊。闪电每年还在世界范围内引发10 000多场火灾。